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It’s that time of year again when the well-known coffee shop chains have brought out their festive drink menus. A particularly popular one seems to be the Black Forest Hot Chocolate from Costa. I have to admit, this is definitely my favourite! So much so that I even made a cake version of it. You can read that recipe HERE if you want to give that a go.

Sometimes though, you just don’t want to have to go to Costa for one. You want one in the comfort of your own home, with your PJs on and your feet up watching a film. Well the good news is they are really easy to make. Costa have slightly changed their recipe over the past couple of years. They now use a sour cherry syrup on top. I prefer the version they used to make, and so this recipe is for the older version.

You might be surprised to learn that the actual hot chocolate part was flavoured with blackberry syrup, not cherry or Black Forest syrup as you would expect. I did once accidentally make it with cherry, and while it was still gorgeous, it wasn’t as good as it is with blackberry. To get the same wonderful taste that Costa gets, you also need to use the same brand of syrups, Monin. I have been a huge fan of Monin syrups for a long time. They have a huge array of flavours available, but for this recipe you will need just two: Blackberry syrup and Cherry syrup. (I’ll put links up at the end for a great place to buy these at a good price).

I make mine using a Tassimo coffee machine and the Cadbury Hot Chocolate pods. If you don’t have a Tassimo machine though you can just use 215 ml of your preferred hot chocolate. (Or look out for a machine in the January sales – they are around £40 at the moment so will probably be even cheaper soon).

You can make this in a mug if you want, but I think they look fabulous in a latte glass. You can pick these up really cheaply from most homeware shops or Amazon.

My final tip is about the topping. Costa use chocolate curls to decorate theirs. I have done that a few times myself (easily done by scraping a vegetable peeler down the side of a block of chocolate) but we much prefer to just crush up a Cadbury Flake. One full-sized Flake will give you enough chocolate for 3 drinks, or 2 if you like extra hehe.

If using a Tassimo machine – place 1 tbsp blackberry syrup into a latte glass. Follow the easy machine instructions to make the hot chocolate, allowing it to pour straight into the latte glass with the syrup in. Stir well.

If not using a Tassimo – make 215 ml of hot chocolate in a latte glass according to the instructions on the brand you are using. Add 1 tbsp blackberry syrup, and stir well.

Shake the squirty cream can well and make a big swirl on top of the hot chocolate.

Drizzle some cherry syrup over the cream and then top with chocolate curls or Flake.

Enjoy!

I must warn you though, this drink is very filling so don’t have one before a meal.

I buy my Monin syrups from Udal Suppliesas they are quick to deliver and priced well.

I also find that it helps to have a bottle pourer to make drizzling the syrup easier. If you search for ‘Monin Pourer’ on the website you will see a range of them to buy. (I have the black pourer which costs £1.80).

The syrups cost around £6.20 per bottle but the bottles hold 70cl, so you can make around 46 hot chocolates! I’d say around £12.40 for 46 of your favourite hot chocolate drinks is a bargain, especially when you realise that 46 in Costa would set you back over £150!!!!!! You’re welcome 🙂

DISCLAIMER: There are no affiliate links in this post and I receive no compensation in any form from Udal Supplies. It is just my preferred place to buy the syrups so I like to recommend good companies. Likewise I recommend Monin for authenticity and quality; I receive no compensation from them either.

I have 2 addictions in life… Nordic Ware bundt tins and the Costa Coffee Festive menu drinks, in particular the Black Forest Hot Chocolate. The Nordic Ware addiction is an all year long one, but sadly the Costa Coffee one is limited to one month a year when the Festive menu appears. Or at least it was! Tassimo coffee machines were selling ridiculously cheaply in the Black Friday sales online a few months ago so we bought one. As soon as my sister found out, she went online and bought me the exact syrups that Costa use in my favourite drink so I could make them at home too! (She bought me the rose one too as everyone knows I adore rose in all forms… flower, scent, and flavour). She even bought me the bottle pourer as well to make drizzling the cherry syrup easier!

Anyway I’m waffling. In case you’ve never tried one this is what the Black Forest Hot Chocolate looks like:

Picture courtesy of Costa

A delicious hot chocolate mixed with blackberry syrup, topped with slightly sweetened fresh cream, drizzled with a yummy cherry sauce and chocolate curls sprinkled on top to finish. Sheer indulgent heaven! I was making one at home and the idea came to me to make a cake version of it! I had the syrups so started planning. I decided to make it as a bundt and thought a flat-topped tin would be best so that I could pipe cream on top, so I made it in the Star shaped tin. Until now THIS has been my favourite bundt recipe that I have created, but I have to admit the Black Forest one has knocked it off top spot for me.

I was asked once why I use buttermilk in my bundts whereas other people use yoghurt. It is just personal preference. Both serve the same purpose but I always have buttermilk in the fridge. Buttermilk, like yoghurt, reacts with bicarbonate of soda, causing harmless carbon dioxide gas. This gas helps bakes to rise and makes them light and fluffy. I use it in scones all the time for that reason too. Enough science, here’s the recipe. It looks like a huge list of ingredients but most of it is store cupboard essentials.

Grease a 10-12 cup bundt tin well with Cake Release, or melted butter and flour. (Or you could try this in normal cake tins). Preheat the oven to 170C.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy.

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, and leave until almost completely melted, stirring once or twice. Remove from the heat and stir until totally smooth. Leave to cool slightly.

In another bowl, sieve together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa). I like to quickly mix with a spoon after sieving cocoa and flour together to make sure it is thoroughly combined and there are no white powders left.

In a large jug mix the wet ingredients together (beaten eggs, buttermilk, melted chocolate and blackberry syrup).

Add half of the wet ingredient mixture to the butter and sugar and beat well until combined. Add half of the dry ingredient mixture and gently fold in with a large spoon or spatula. Fold in the last half of the wet ingredients, followed by the remaining dry ingredient mixture until completely combined. (This was the perfect amount of blackberry syrup flavour for me and tasted the same as how Costa serve it. However, taste a bit of the mixture and if you like it stronger add an extra tbsp of syrup now).

Pour into your prepared tin until no higher than three quarters full, then place in the centre of the oven and bake for around 50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. (Don’t worry if the top has cracked, it will be on the bottom when served). Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

When it is completely cool, place on to a serving plate.Whisk together the cream and icing sugar until it forms very soft peaks. (When you pipe cream it thickens rapidly in the piping bag so don’t over-whisk it now). Spoon into a piping bag and pipe on to the top of your bundt however you prefer. I just did simple rosettes. Nothing fancy. Pipe more around the bottom as well. (If your bundt tin design allows, pipe extra cream around the sides too).

Drizzle Monin cherry syrup all over the cream letting it come down the sides too. Use a potato peeler to make curls of chocolate (just “peel” down the side of a row of chocolate) and sprinkle them on top to finish. Or you can crumble a Flake on top.

And there you have the cake version of the famous drink. Obviously it is EXTREMELY calorific so probably best just to make it for special occasions!!! My Other Half ate 2 slices straight after each other, and said it tastes just like the drink. My son polished off a slice in record time too and said it was delicious. I put a picture of it on Twitter and have to admit I was overwhelmed by the response to it, so I hope you like it as much as we do.

Obviously as there is fresh cream on top, this cake needs to be stored in the fridge. Remove it for a while before serving so the cream isn’t too cold. It is best eaten on the same day as cakes in fridges tend to go hard quickly. Or you could make the cake and only put the cream and decorations on individual slices when you serve them. That way you can keep the cake in an airtight container.

The best place to buy Monin syrups is from Udal Supplies. You can find the blackberry syrup HERE and the cherry one HERE. If you want the bottle pourer for easier drizzling of the cherry one on top, that can be found HERE.

I have contacted Costa and asked if they would mind me making cake versions of more of their best-loved drinks. Let me know in the comments what your favourites ones are 🙂